Seven Basic Quality Management Tools

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Seven Basic Quality tools documents

Definition of Quality Management -- it is a method for ensuring that all the activities necessary to design, develop and implement a
product or service are effective and efficient with respect to the system and its performance. It is also a principle set by the company
to endure the continuous advocacy of quality services and products, or the further improvement of it.

Welcome to QT-charts knowledge base section.
Hopefully you will find some of them useful in your work. (Read articles below to learn more.)

CAPABILITY ANALYSIS

Original text on
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Capability
is defined as the likelihood a product will meet its designed specifications. Capability
Analysis is a set of statistical calculations performed on a set of data in
order to determine the capability of the system. A system is said to be
“capable” if it meets 100% of its specifications. However, to be 3-sigma it
only needs to meet 99.73% of specifications. Specifications are also referred
to as requirements, goals, objectives, or standards.

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Formulas used to calculate capability are:

•Cpu
= (USL – mean)/ 3 * standard deviation

•Cpl
= (mean – LSL)/ 3 * standard deviation

•Cpk
= min {Cpu, Cpl}

The Cpk is the most commonly used index for
calculating capability, however some have found that the Ppk index is actually
better. The Cpk is used to gauge the potential capability of a system, or in
other words, a system’s aptitude to perform. The Ppk (and relative pp and Pr)
actually measure the performance of the system. To determine which of the
indexes to use, determine whether you want to analyze the actual performance
(Ppk) or the potential capability of the system (Cpk). Cpk is calculated with
sigma equal to 3, which is an estimated sigma. Calculating Ppk uses a
calculated sigma from the individual data.

Understanding
the need for capability indexes is an important part of the analysis. The
indexes help to determine the system’s ability to meet specifications. The
problem found in using the Cpk, is that it does not account for the average.
This will not only let you see what the systems potential is, not necessarily
what the average of the system looks like. For example, a Cpk of 1 indicates
that the system is at least 99.73% within its specifications.

Some
organizations have a minimum requirement of Cpk = 1. A company would

use
the capability analysis in their company to assess their current production
situation, determine if an investment in improving the analytical process is
necessary, or to analyze the results of efforts made towards improvements.

Steps to the process are as follows:

•Gather
relevant data. Take a sample of the data. Determine the
acceptable variation, determine the USL, LSL, Cpk, standard deviation, and the
mean.

•Construct
a histogram. This is done to see the distribution of the
data

•Sketch
the distribution curve. This
will show whether the data is within the specification limits. At this point,
find the standard deviation and the upper and lower limit (LSL = x-bar – SD and
USL = x-bar – SD)

•Calculate
the percentage outside the specifications. To
see how the system looks overall.

•Analyze
the results. Determine if the data stays within the
limits and whether the histogram shows even distribution. Analysis the data
against the specifications

A Real World Example - Auto Body
Specialists

This
example will show how to implement the analysis into a real world situation.

•Range
of acceptable blemishes in the paint

§Ultimate goal be within the following limits:

oUpper limit = 5.20

oLower limit = 1.37

oX-bar = 3.28

·Histogram Example:

·Distribution Curve

LSL = 1.37 x-bar =
3.28 USL = 5.28

·Analysis
of data: Determine if there is an even distribution, if the
data stays within the limits, if the data appears to be capable. There appears
to be even distribution, but there are points outside the limits:

•Cpu = .25

•Cpl = .26 Overall, this is not a capable
process; the Cpk should be closer to 1.

•Cpk = .25

The
capability analysis is a powerful tool to assess the systems ability to perform
and to study the results of improvement efforts. Before determining whether an
improvement is needed in the system, analysts must understand the as-is system
thoroughly. Capability analysis will aid them in finding necessary information
to decide if improvements are needed. Companies will also use this analysis to
see if changes made to the system are beneficial.